Risk of progression to dementia overestimated

[Celebration]

I thought this deserved its own thread

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5355CL20090406

People with mild cognitive impairment appear to have a lower risk of progressing to full blown dementia than previously thought, according to a new report.

Mild cognitive impairment is a transitional stage between normal brain function and dementia/Alzheimer's disease.

It's estimated that up to 15 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment go on to develop dementia, Dr. Alex J. Mitchell, of the University of Leicester, and Dr. M. Shiri-Feshki, of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, note in a report in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.

However, based on pooled data from 41 published studies they analyzed, the proportion of patients with mild memory problems who progress to full dementia is 10 percent per year in high-risk groups and 5 percent per year in low-risk groups.

I would have to say that my mom fit into this category. When she was in her eighties, she had to quit driving and doing various things. She once played Scrabble with my daughter entirely UPSIDE DOWN. Even after that she could still beat me at Scrabble. But she never lost touch with reality, and she always knew who everyone was. She just needed some help paying bills. She would have been someone susceptible to scammers. BEWARE OF THAT. She fortunately was not prey to that, but ordered various weird things like "Wine and Entertaining" magazine.

So, yes, she was in "assisted living" but in no way did would I have called her anything but mildly cognitively impaired. And this state lasted at least three years, without progression.

[enough]

1. As the daughter of a late-onset Alzheimer's sufferer, I find this VERY GOOD NEWS.

Ever since my father was diagnosed in his mid-eighties, I have felt as if dementia was just around the corner for me. I take great encouragement from this.

Thanks for posting this story.